Chong An Sunim - Zen Buddhism lectures

My notes on a 12 part series of introductory lectures by Chong An Sunim on Zen Buddhism. Broken into three sections: Theravada, Mahayana, Zen
(Warning: quoting is mixed with my paraphrasing/editorialising without distinction. Hopefully I've kept editorialising minimal, but reader beware)

Theravada (01 - 04)

Buddha nature - When Buddha attained enlightenment, he saw that all beings are enlightened at their deepest nature. All names/forms/sentient beings inherently capable of attaining enlightenment/liberation. Nature of what you attain in practice does not matter so much, name, what people say about it etc. What matters is how it does it works, what you attain; but how you function in your family, neighbourhood, society…

Conditioned existence - Nothing exists by itself, independently of causes and conditions. Everything caused by another factor. Buddha saw it's not necessary to suffer, be deluded, produce anger/desire/ignore. Same goes for sense of self/ego/I; is all feelings, perceptions, impulses, memories, judgements, etc “held together by string of attachment”.

Importance of meditation - Attainment not religious, depended on personal practice (ie. meditation). After attainment, next job is to help all beings. Meditation always relevant, because gives you direct insight to what we are as human beings. Not some kind of philosophy, psychology; not scientific. Much deeper. Attain iff you practice, not from books.

Buddhist traditions - proposed grouping:

* Theravada (only accept what was written down as Buddha's own speech),

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Parallel: individual (Buddha), world around you (Dharma), group share practice with (Sangha). Need balance on all three for harmonious tradition. Eg, in West, over-emphasis on Dharma at expense of others (lots of books, intellectual understanding, individual practice, etc, but hard time connecting with others)

Questions from the audience

Q: difference between seriously disappointed man, and one attached to nothing.

1. Impermanence - eg. mustard seed story. Humans seem to lack recognition that impermanence applies to them too. Buddha gifted in that picked up on this despite sheltered life. Something we all have to come to terms with (eg. small kids separated from parents), neither good nor bad, eg. suffering also impermanent). What the Buddha practised/attained:

What is it that sees impermanence? What is it that perceives coming and going?

Liberation from suffering: still have to die, but impermanence perceived, and not a problem. Unclear mind (avidyā, Sanskrit)

2. Emptiness of Purity vs Impurity - distinctions like/dislike pleasant/unpleasant are empty, created by our mind (eg. reaction to foreign foods), can give rise to false distinction between pure/impure. But also conditioned, also created by mind, also empty, also dependent on other things

3. Non-self - all phenomenon/things lack independent existence, are a sum of their parts, eg. a watch doesn't have a watch-ego, watch-self, nor a tree, etc. Whole universe is same way. Sense of a distinct self is similarly a mistake. No need to fear: “of course you will disappear, but you will feel better without your ego, much much better”

3. End of suffering: Stop holding, attaching, wanting, judging, then the suffering stops

4. Way to end suffering (8-fold path). Correct view, correct meditation, etc. Notice how unlike other religions, Buddhism specify what constitutes “correct”. Moment to moment. End of suffering: before birth, before death.

The Buddha did not start with the 4 Noble Truths! He first started with what we now know as the AvatamsakaSūtra (if you want to understand nature of this universe, perceive it as created by mind alone), but “too short, too simple, too clear” to be understood. Had to be back off and start with something people could work with, teaching as though cause/effect some exterior thing. Practice allows you to see that you create your own suffering, its cause, its end, you go on the path… Originally, suffering, cause, end don't exist. But you have to start with something you directly understand.

Intellectual understanding just an intermediary phase. Concepts, you need them, but they're just expedient means. Don't deny correct function of mind (that needs, uses concepts). If the teaching is correct, you don't stop at the conceptual level. Mature human being means: perceive directly. This all helps you go beyond thinking.

Questions from the audience

Q: How to cultivate compassion, instead of self-serving pity, especially when faced with lack of appreciation;

2. Middle way - tathatā (Sanskrit + Pali: तथता, thusness). Eg. this building “just like this, not high, not low…”. All phenomena “just like this”. Qualities of objects/phenomena (eg. hot, cold) not intrinsic, but assigned by our consciousness. Mahayana is not just about the extra scriptures, or the methodological innovations: Essence of Mahayana is resolution of dualism between suffering and nirvana.

7) manas (Sanskrit): makes distinctions/discriminates: good/bad, like/don't like, me/not-me. “As long as you keep your opposites machine going, you can never go beyond name and form…”; “don't think” doesn't mean “blow your brain to pieces”; just attain one moment *SMACK* of no thinking, then the movement of 6th/7th stops)

Seems to be hub and spoke model (6 senses feed into 7 which outputs to 8?). “None of this is your true self, none of this is your Buddha Nature”.

What is it that perceives all of these things? Called many things (clear mirror consciousness, Buddha nature, before life/death, etc), but properly speaking, no name. This is what makes us human. All animals have 1-8 to an extent (eg. picky dogs/cats also discriminate); but only humans the capacity to reflect/change your karma (EYK: I'm sure this can be updated for a modern understanding of other animals, if needed), not that we seem to do much about it (because avidya)…

Questions from the audience

Q: what exactly do you mean by “save all beings?”

Q: what is not-moving mind as alluded to the Compass of Zen? pretty inspirational story at the end about being appropriate in each moment

Chong An Sunim started by taking more questions, then continued at 12:30 with one more aspect…

Karma body (7th and 8th consciousnesses), persists even past physical body (EYK: do I understand correctly that the “what kind of body do you get if you were to die tomorrow” poem comes from Baizhang? Or was it the karma body concept?). Practice enables you to observe how this functions and know it will carry over to next lifetime…

* Mahayana - but if you enter Nirvana, how do you help this world? Lifetime after lifetime, be born in human body, meet the dharma, meet your teacher, get enlightenment. You vow to come back! Enlightenment yes, but escaping, not until everybody else is liberated first (see ya suckers = selfish). Bodhisattva path (job security forever…). Driver/software = 7-8th consciousness, Car/hardware = 1-6th…

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva in the state of practising perfect wisdom (or could be you) perceives that…

1. all 5 skandas empty (form, body, feelings, perceptions, impulses, forms of consciousness; building blocks of our ego) originally empty of inherent existence, do not have control over our existence or our buddha nature…

3. no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind (in this state of transcendental wisdom)- nothing appears, nothing disappears. No dualistic quality, no enlightenment, no suffering. Not attached to anything. Just what you really are.

4. bodhisattva when depending on this has no fear because no hindrance - having fear means you have some hindrance, either in body, feeling, consciousness, etc; because some attachment/duality still exists

5. the greatest, most perfect; this is true, not false - from pov of the “old people”, really venerated/respected this sutra, used this sort of language. “is true not false” expression of what they experienced of this first hand

6. mantra: gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā - go, go, go to the other shore (go through this gate), become Buddha… (Sanskrit gate = English gate?!). Sutras, mantras, etc “only a means to an end”, mechanism to return “before thinking”. Mantra is protection of mind against its own harmful influence. Talking about sutras “actually very bad thing”, adding words onto words for talking about ineffable. But serves as food for the intellect (like mantra). Suddenly you realise where your stomach is. Point in all traditions is the same. Become clear, help this world.

3. Bodhidharma to China (28 generations later) with Buddha's mind seal. China had been seeping into China for years (since ca < 100 AD) “So far, we've had only the baggage; now we have the owner”. Chinese knew he was coming. Emperor Wu exchange (no merit… no holiness; only clear, vast, empty space… no mind). Bodhidharma to Shaolin for 6-9 years before starting teaching.

”Meditation school of Buddhism” a bit contradiction in terms cos originally Buddha taught practising, together-action of Sangha, plus answering students' questions (hence “thus have I heard…”). So why dhyāna school? Because contrast with later traditions where learning/reciting sutras, memorising Buddha's words, etc; gained lots more prominence. Bodhidharma returns to original priorities via

0 (closed/selfish mind) - you have no questions, no doubts, no problems… except problems with the world. You are you (fixed identity), angry when you don't what you want, happy when you do. You believe your thinking is real. Nobody can stay at zero. Sooner or later, you see impermanence…

90 (sufficient understanding) - conceptual understanding how names/forms operate, but no attainment. You know about Buddha Nature, but haven't attained enlightenment. As you start looking inside, you creep up to 91, 92…

180 (cessation of dualities) - you and world become one. No form, no emptiness, no words, no speech, only SMACK. CalledBuddha Nature, aka substance, aka the Absolute, aka, the Great Way. Just this moment.

270 (area of magic/miracle) - absolute freedom, totally no-hindrance mind. Understanding that you can do everything. You could perform miracles, but it's useless because you haven't solved the basic human karma of anger, desire, ignorance…

360 (overlapping w 0) - mountains become just mountain, water just water. All karmic debts clear. Finished; ditch the circle. What's left? Our human duty: “How may I help you?” “How can I help this world?”. Can't help other humans unless you first complete the circle (road to hell paved with good intentions). Do internal job, then the external job. Having resolved man-made suffering (eg. wars, harming nature), still have 4 major misfortunes to deal with (birth, old age, sickness, death). But there's overwhelming man-made suffering to deal with first…

Q. ego, can see it, what is it? (Nargajuna gives us solid philosophical foundation for Middle Way, cradle of Zen, made it possible for Daoists to understand Buddhists. Unparalleled to this day. Example of intellect + wisdom, grounded in practice)

Chong An Sunim seems to accept the Buddhist/Daoist hybridisation view of Zen, “very simple, very clear, very efficient; best of both worlds”

Meditation: return to the mind before thinking, before birth/death. Zen eschews use of particular mental formations (eg. sights, sounds) as objects of meditation, but as tools, means to an end. Tools primarily used: bowing (body), chanting (speech), (mind)

Body meditation: bowing (Westerners instinctively react negatively) - you raise the Buddha above yourself, leave your karma behind. Does not mean that you worship something separate. Perfectly natural to bow to somebody more respectable, advanced, accomplished, than we are. After culture shock, becomes second nature. You and this world become one. That's all it means. Other forms of meditation, martial arts, flower arranging. Bowing a bit different because no creation/destruction.

A. Hwadu.Keeping Great Question in your mind (eg. what am I). After a while, the words naturally disappear, only the question remains. Perceiving everything as it is, moment to moment.

B. For some, question too cold/icy/sharp, so use a mantra. Mind moves, but in a wee circle. Just like the hwadu, if wander off, non-judgementally immediately return to your practice, moment to moment. Reference to huineng no-mirror poem. No name, no form BUT BE CAREFUL, if you attach to Nothing, is also a trap! (not nihilism, Western existentialists offing themselves used as cautionary tale)

C. perceiving the sound (aka Kwan-Um), aka Shikantaza in Japanese Zen. Shikantaza style is not paying special attention to sound, but to everything. OTOH, Kwan Um focus on perceiving the sound. Moment to moment. What is it that hears the sound? Bit too direct for some folks.

Many methods, appropriate for different personalities. Kwan-Um uses methodological progression. Ice analogy - bowing breaks the ice, chanting melts it, just sitting blows the clouds (vapour) away. Westerners tend to want to go straight to sitting, but tends to be induce craziness, Zen sickness, too much/too soon “like an avalanche” opening floodgates on unfinished karma. Traditional progression: years of physical work, chanting, and bowing (to break the ice) as mental preparation for sitting. Doesn't mean you shouldn't sit as a beginner, just that must keep balance… sitting not enough by itself, chanting not alone by itself…